


Time of My Life

by missrachelberry04



Category: Anastasia (1997), Anastasia - Flaherty/Ahrens/McNally
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anastasia - Freeform, F/M, Lifeguard, Romance, Slight Dirty Dancing AU, Summer, Summer Love, Swimming, home love family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24991645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missrachelberry04/pseuds/missrachelberry04
Summary: The Romanov's decide to spend their summer vacation at The Neva Resort and Club in upstate New York. Anastasia is all set for a peaceful summer catching up on her favorite books and relaxing by the pool, before starting Yale in the fall. That is until she meets a handsome lifeguard. Will the plans set in place for Anya change when this summer romance turns into the time of her life?Slightly inspired by Dirty Dancing, except there isn't any dancing involved.
Relationships: Dimitri | Dmitry & Anya | Anastasia Romanov (Anastasia 1997 & Broadway), Dimitri | Dmitry/Anya | Anastasia Romanov (Anastasia 1997 & Broadway), Olga Romanov/Gleb Vaganov
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I was watching Dirty Dancing and was inspired to write the fic. Dirty dancing is on of my favorite movies and such a great story. I hope ya'll enjoy. 
> 
> P.S. There isn't actually any dancing involved in this fic.

The road to the resort was a little bumpy as it was a gravel road. She felt as though they had been driving for hours. It had been almost 20 minutes since they turned on the gravel road and Maria began complaining about losing cell service. 

“You’ll be fine Maria, there will be WiFi in the cabins, I think you can wait just a little while before you continue texting you, friends.” Their mother interjected.

  
Anastasia continued to stare out the window looking at all of the trees and left her book sitting in her lap. Every summer their family always traveled to Paris to visit her grandmother or across Europe. She still didn’t understand why but her parents insisted on staying at a resort in the middle of nowhere, upstate New York. 

Growing up in the upper east side of Manhattan you don’t ever see trees outside of the parks. What seemed like a forest-lined the roads, however, it wasn’t as beautiful as the French countryside, it still had its uniqueness to it.

  
They pulled up to the valet stand and the family got out as their father talked to one of the attendants. “Mr. Romanov, Welcome to The Neva Resort and club.” A man yelled, greeting their father. The man was tall and built, Anastasia was curious as to how he was wearing a suit in this heat. 

“My name is Gleb Vaganov, I’m the new owner of the resort.” Gleb walked over to shake Mr. Romanov’s hand. “I’m so glad you and your family could join us this summer, Mr. Romanov.” 

“Oh, please call me Nicholas. This is my wife Alexandra.” He gestured as she walked around the car to them. “And these are two of my daughters. Maria and Anastasia.” The two girls smiled politely. 

“Two? Do you have more?” Gleb intrigued.

“Yes, my two oldest Olga and Tatiana, they will be coming tomorrow. My son is here as well. Where did he go?” Nicholas looked around for the boy.

“Alexei stops helping with the bags, that’s what the help is for.” Alexandra scolded. 

“Sorry, mom.” Alexei popped out front behind the car with his hands up in defense. He walked over to where the rest of his family was. 

“Well, it is nice to meet you all.” He smiled. “Viktor!” Gleb yelled and waved the boy over. “My nephew Viktor will take you up to the main cabin. There you will be able to check-in and get your calendars, activity lists, and information about the end of the summer benefit. We also have hor devours and cocktails up there. Help yourself while you wait for your bags to be delivered to your cabin. 

The family climbed into the cart for the short ride up the hill. It wasn’t that far from the valet at the bottom, Anastasia felt that she could have just as easily walked it. Her father made small talk with the driver Viktor. He was Gleb Vaganov's nephew and a waiter at the resort. He’s worked here every summer since high school. He just got into Harvard med school and was promoted to head waiter when his uncle took over the place. 

Once they got to the top, the family exited the cart, of course not before her father gave the boy a sizable tip. Anastasia rolled her eyes as she walked towards the main building, he literally, just drove us up this hill, she thought. There were already quite a few guests inside. The lobby where her father checked in was connected to a dining hall, both Anastasia and Alexei immediately walked over to the trays of food that lined a wall. She laughed at her little brother as he shoved a handful of cheese cubes in his mouth, and she placed a few finger sandwiches on a plate. 

“Nastya! What are you doing?” Maria inquired. “You are supposed to be working on your summer body, not eating everything in sight.”

“Oh, Maria. Summer already started so whatever I have will be my summer body.” The younger sister remarked as she shoved a sandwich in her mouth. Maria just glared at her.

“Now I know your mother taught you, children, better manners than that.” A voice commented. 

All three siblings turned and yelled in unison, “Lily!” 

The woman who had been like a surrogate aunt to them growing up walked over, each hugging them and giving a kiss on the cheek. “Mother told us you were going to be staying here this summer too,” Anastasia commented.

“I can’t believe you chose this place over Paris too.” Maria scoffed. 

Lily just eyed her. “Well dear, I’ll have you know that The Neva Resort and Club is one of my favorite places. I do miss owning it, besides Paris is full of tourists in the summer. I prefer to watch the drama unfold between people I know, it makes life interesting.” She laughed. 

“Lily darling, how have you been?” Their mother asked as she walked over. The two embraced in a small hug. “Nicky and I could have sworn you still owned the place, we thought that was why you insisted we spend our vacation here.” 

“As much joy I had running this place, it just became too much. I’d rather enjoy my retirement with my new lover.” The girls giggled as she winked. 

Alex shook her head at Lily, always up the same spiritedness. “I heard you had gotten remarried again, when will we get to meet the lucky gentleman.”

“This evening at dinner, I’ll make sure he behaves.” she laughed. 

“And, who will make sure you behave?” Alex asked.

“Why, you of course darling. I better get to my cabin. Try to remember your manners children.” With that, she was gone. The three youngest siblings looked at each other and laughed. 

_________________________

  
Later that evening the family all sat around a large table, Lily and her new husband Vlad had joined them. He was definitely, interesting to say the least, and had a story for almost everything. It turns out Vlad and Lily knew each other back in the day, but they ended up taking separate paths in life. They ran into each other a few years ago and rekindled their romance, he spent the last two years helping Lily run the resort until she sold it to Mr. Vaganov.

Somehow Anastasia got stuck sitting next to Viktor, Mr. Vaganov’s nephew. He kept trying to talk to her about how he got into Harvard and was going to be such a great doctor. She was ignoring him, but he still wasn’t getting the hint.

Most of the dinner guests had already left or moved to the recreation room, they had set up a few poker tables for the guests to play and win door prizes. “You must be proud of your nephew. Mr. Vaganov” Nicholas spoke up. “Getting into medical schools is no easy task, Harvard no less.” 

“Of course I am, and please call me Gleb.” He waved. “He’s going to make a fine doctor.” Gleb smiled at his nephew. Anastasia could see the smugness in Viktor’s face. 

“Well, our Anastasia will be starting Yale in the fall.” Her mother added. 

Anastasia just gave a small smile towards her mother. She felt Viktor lean in closer to her and whisper. “So, you’re an Ivy League as well.” She felt a shudder go down her back as she rolled her eyes.

“We’re very proud of her.” Her father said. “She’s always looking for ways to add to her resume. So if you ever need volunteers, she’ll be happy to help.” 

She didn’t say anything but objected to her father's claim in her head. She sunk back into the chair as everyone else began to stand up and head towards the “casino”. When she stood up she felt someone grab her arm lightly. “The view from the fairway is beautiful in the evenings, would you care to join me?” Viktor asked. 

“I’m sorry Viktor, but I think I’m not feeling well, I think I’m just going to go back to our cabin.”Anastasia lied.

“I’d love to see the view!” Maria jumped in as soon as her sister declined. 

“Take Maria, I’m sure she will enjoy it more than I would.” Anastasia had a feeling Maria was a bit jealous that Viktor had been trying to get her attention throughout dinner. She watched her sister leave and stood in the almost empty dining room. There were a few staffers still hanging around their tables in the back. She turned to see one of them staring at her, he was tall and slender, his brown hair falling in his face. He caught her eye for a second then looked away as soon as she noticed him looking at her. She wasn’t really into gambling but decided to head over to find her brother Alexei.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for chapter 2! Hope you enjoy!

The employees who weren’t part of the wait staff were required to sit in their section of the dining room. It was the first night of the summer which meant staffers had to dress up, this was to impress the guests. Make them think that they were being pampered by professionals and not just a bunch of college students and locals. Dmitry sat with a few of the other lifeguards and pool staff, he hated having to wear a suit and tie, at least it was only for tonight. 

He watched as the guests began to trickle out towards the rec hall. Thankfully the new owner Gleb had hired extra staff just for the casino night and others weren’t dragged into help. He noticed that one of the only tables left included the new owner as well as the previous owner Lily and her husband Vlad. They were sitting with a family of five, two girls and a boy. There didn’t seem to be anything special about them in particular, except Gleb’s glorified nephew kept trying to talk to one of the girls. Dmitry could tell that she wasn’t interested in whatever lies he was probably feeding her. 

Dmitry has never been a fan of Viktor, especially not after what had happened last summer. He watched as the group left their table. Viktor tried to get the girl to leave with him but somehow ended up getting the other girl from the table to join him. He watched as the strawberry blonde stood there by herself, he knew he shouldn’t be staring and looked away, but not until after he caught the girl’s blue eyes staring back at him. 

He suddenly felt two arms wrap around his waist from behind and turned his head to see who it was. “Hey, stranger.” The voice called. 

“Hi Marfa, what are you up to now?” He asked as he released her grip on him. 

“I just wanted to say hi.” She laughed. “You never called me all year.”

He turned to start walking away. “I didn’t know I was supposed to.”

She followed after him. “You didn’t have to, I just thought maybe you would hit me up when you were bored.” She grabbed his arm to stop him from walking away again. “Why don’t we just pick up where we left off last summer.” She tightened her grip on his arm as she whispered in his ear. “Meet me in the lifeguard shack in 5 minutes.” With that, she disappeared. 

Dmitry knew going wasn’t going to be a good idea, when it came to Marfa nothing was ever a good idea. Unfortunately, his friend Jessica wasn’t working at the club this summer to keep him from making another mistake. Yet he still found himself walking down the path to the pool and lifeguard shack. He opened the door to see Martha waiting for him on one of the couches. 

“Close the door and lock it, you never know who else might have the same idea.” She ordered.

Dmitry did as he was told then walked over to the couch. The second he sat down she was on top of him, already trying to loosen his tie. “So I guess we aren’t going to talk about our year are we?” He joked.

“Shut up Mitya, we’re not here to talk.” 

  
___________________

“This was fun, we should do it again sometime.” Marfa laughed as she slipped her dress back on. Dmitry didn’t say anything as he tried to button his shirt back up. “So, are you coming to the party tonight?” She asked.

“No, I don’t think I’m going to make it this time.” He sighed. “I think I’m just going to head back to my cabin, and finish unpacking.” He sat back down on the couch and watched as Marfa headed towards the door. 

“Well, if you get lonely, you always know where to find me.” She winked at him as she left.

Dmitry leaned his head back on the couch and groaned. Why does he let this happen? Suddenly he heard his stomach growl, he didn’t eat much at dinner because he was so concerned about the girl Viktor kept trying to talk to. He knew what Viktor was like and didn’t want anything bad to happen, again. He shoved his tie in his pocket as he made his way towards the main building. He didn’t have anything in his cabin yet and there were always leftovers in the kitchen. 

  
When he walked in he saw someone familiar rummaging through the fridge. “Excuse me sir, but you are a guest, you're not supposed to be back here.” He called out. 

The man nearly hit his head on one of the shelves inside the fridge, as Dmitry frightened him. He turned and just laughed. “Yes, but this is where they keep the extra chocolate mousse. Last I checked you’re a lifeguard, not a kitchen boy. What are you doing back here?” The man asked. 

“The same as you old man, except I’m looking for leftover roast beef,” Dmitry answered his friend Vlad as he was liked towards the fridge. “How’s the view from the other side?” 

“Not too shabby right now,” Vlad answered shoving a spoonful of mousse in his mouth. “I’m just worried Lily will start obsessing over the changes that have been made and the plans for the summer, now that she's no longer in charge.” 

“Makes sense, I don’t know that my idea of retirement would be watching someone run my former business, hopefully, you too can just relax and enjoy married life.” Dmitry smiled.

Vlad sighed. “Thanks, my boy. I heard that Jessica won’t be returning this summer, I’m really sorry about everything.” 

Dmitry picked at the plate he had served of cold roast beef. “Thank you, again for all of your help. I promise I’ll pay you back.” 

“Don’t worry about it. The only thing you should be worring about is the pool attendant I saw leaving the lifeguard shack. Does she have anything to do with your shirt being inside out?” Vlad stared at the boy. 

Dmitry just rolled his eyes in response and took a bite. “I made a mistake last year in starting that. I should have known better.” He threw his empty plate in the dirty dish bin and padded Vlad on the back. “It’s probably getting close to your bedtime old man, I’ll see you around.” 

When Dmitry exited the kitchen he didn’t expect to physically run into something small and petite. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” He apologized to the girl he had just almost knocked over. 

“It’s fine, I probably shouldn’t have been in this hallway anyway.” She replied.

He looked at her a little confused. “What are you doing over here, aren’t you a guest?”

She straightens out her dress and tossed her strawberry blonde hair. It was the girl he had seen earlier at dinner. “I’m looking for my brother.” Anastasia answered annoyed. Just then Alexie popped his head around the corner. 

“There you are Nastya, I’m tired of card games, let's go back to the cabin. There’s a new true-crime documentary on Netflix for us to watch.” Alexie yelled as he waved her to come with him. She smiled softly at Dmitry and turned to follow her brother.


	3. Chapter 3

They had already been at the resort for a couple of days now, Olga and Tatiana had arrived and everyone had unpacked and settled into their rooms. Maria and Anastasia took the room with the two twin beds and adjoining bathroom with Alexei. All five siblings were laying in the bed in Olga’s room. “Ok everyone, I think that we should go down to the pool.” Maria spoke. 

“Are you even going to get in the pool?” Tatiana asked. 

“I would mess up my hair if I did, I just want to lay out and tan.” Maria replied.

Alexei laughed at his sister. “Well, I will definitely get in the pool. What do you think, Nastya?” 

“I’m not sure.” She said trying to focus on the book she was reading. 

“You know I think we could all use some fresh air, what’s the point of staying here if we're going to spend all summer in the cabin reading.” Olga’s said, jumping from the bed. “We’re leaving for the pool in ten minutes!” 

“But, that’s not enough time!” Maria objected. 

“Make it enough time or we’re leaving without you.” Tatiana laughed.

  
The five siblings had gathered their belongings and headed to the pool. When they arrived they were pleased to see that it wasn’t too crowded. There were a few kids playing towards the shallow end, and some older ladies sitting at the tables. They picked five chairs right in the middle of the rows and laid down. Alexei went straight for the pool. Maria set a timer so they knew when to turn over to even out their tan. 

Anastasia left her cover on and settled herself in her chair with her book. It was a cheesy romance novel, but she enjoyed it and the influences of classic literature it had. She stretched her feet out on the chair, feeling the warm sun hit her legs. The sound of a sharp whistle startled her a bit. She looked up to see a lifeguard warning a couple of kids playing in the water to be careful. 

It was the same guy she ran into in the hallway of the main building, the guy she noticed watching her at dinner. If she didn’t know any better she would say that he was staring at her again, but instead of looking away something I’m her couldn’t help but stare back. 

Dmitry watched as the guests of the resort went about their day at the pool. A few kids were playing in the pool, he had to get on to a few times when their game of Marco Polo turned into pushing each other under the water. Sometimes being a lifeguard at the resort was kind of boring besides screaming kids not very many of the guests got in the water. 

He watched as a group of older women had lunch at the tables. He rolled his eyes as Marfa winked at him while serving them. The problem with getting involved with a pool attendant was that he had to see her almost everyday, but today there was a new group of people at the pool. 

There in the middle of the chairs sat four very different but similar girls. Two of them were the girls sitting with Vlad and his wife Lily at dinner the other night. The Romanov sisters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. They had a little brother as well, Alexei, he was the boy the youngest sister he learned was Anastasia was looking for. Vlad told him how they came from a very wealthy family in the upper east side of Manhattan. Their father worked on Wall Street and owned several businesses as well as theNew York Palace Hotel, home to the Romanov family.

The oldest Olga received her law degree from Harvard and worked for one of New York’s best law firms. The next one Tatiana was about to start her residency at Johns Hopkins. Maria was currently studying international business at Princeton, and the youngest sister, Anastasia would be starting Yale in the fall. There was a high expectation for these sisters in the world. 

Dmitry studied the girls. All four of them just laid on their chairs, turning every so often to even their tan. He watched as the youngest never turned. She was curled up in her chair reading whatever book she had brought with her. He tried not to stare, but would catch her glancing at him over the top of her book. 

Suddenly Viktor walked up to the group of girls. Maria sat up quickly and started to fix her hair and sunglasses. The others didn’t really take any interest to him being there. Dmitry wished he could throw him into the pool, but the whistle for a shift change had just blown and it was only the beginning of the season. 

____________________

The girls always seemed to come during Dmitry’s shift. None of them ever got in the water, except their younger brother. Vlad told him how he had suffered from many illnesses as a child and spent a lot of time in a wheelchair. Eventually he gained his strength back and got really good at water therapy. The Romanov's weren’t any different from the other guests at the resort; they spent their time lounging at the pool, the spa, or the golf course. 

Dmitry could feel the blazing sun hitting him, he had only been working for about a week and already his golden tan had returned. He was careful, always making sure he had enough sunscreen, if anything his mother had always taught him to be protected. For some reason today’s shift felt incredibly long and his back was getting tired of his lifeguard chair. Nothing much had happened that day, a few kids had been running around the pool and he yelled at them to stop. If he saw them running again he was going to kick them out of the pool. 

He watched as the youngest daughter got up from the chair saying something to her sisters about going to the cafe snack bar. The next thing he knew everything was happening so fast. The kids he had gotten onto earlier were running again and headed straight towards the girl. One of the boys did his best to dodge, barely missing her. It was just enough for her to lose her balance and knock herself directly into the pool.

Dmitry blew his whistle with as much force as he could and jumped down from his chair. Diving head first he pushed through the water straight down to the bottom, where she had sunken. He wrapped his arms around her waist and swam back towards the surface. One of the other lifeguards was already at the edge of the pool and helped pull her out of the water. 

By this time there was already a crowd of guests and her sister were all screaming. “Everyone back up!” Dmitry yelled as he climbed out of the pool. “I got it.” He told the other lifeguard and attended to the girl. 

Anastasia sat on concrete near the edge of the pool, her swimsuit and coverup drenched. “Are you ok?” Dmitry asked as she coughed and spit out water. Thankfully she was conscious when they pulled her out of the water, but she definitely looked spooked. 

She nodded her head but didn’t say anything. “Nastya are you ok?” Olga asked. All four of her siblings had gathered around her. 

“Do y’all mind giving us a minute while I check her out?” Dmitry asked. Reluctantly they all backed away. “Let’s get you to a chair.” Dmitry said as he helped Anastasia up from the ground and walked her to a nearby chair. One of the other lifeguards had brought a towel and he draped it around her shoulders. “Are you sure you’re ok?” He asked again. 

This time she replied. “Yes.”

He watched her as she sat, calming herself down. He didn’t notice any initial signs of injury. “Do you know if you hit your head? Does anything hurt?” He questioned.

“No I’m ok, I’m just a little shook up is all.” She gave him a soft smile. “What’s your name?” 

“Dmitry. And you? I forgot to make sure you remember your name.” He laughed. 

“Anastasia, but some people call me Nastya, or Anya.” She answered.

“Well Anya, do you want me to take you to the infirmary?” He helped her to stand up from the chair. He noticed her sisters standing nearby. 

“No, I just want to go back to my cabin.” She answered. “Thank you Dmitry.” She smiled.

“That’s what I’m here for.” He shrugged. Her sisters gathered around her and took her back to her cabin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a little while since I've updated, but I hope y'all enjoy the chapter!

The rest of the day her sisters waited on her hand and foot, constantly asking if she was ok if she needed anything. She just wanted to be left alone but didn’t want to be rude to her sisters. She knew they were just worried about her so she let them stay in her room for the rest of the evening to watch movies. 

Of course the second she fell into the pool her parents were informed and rushed over from the golf course. Thankfully her mother was able to calm her father down. He was already threatening to go after the parents of whose kid it was that knocked Anastasia into the pool. Once she told her parents about a hundred times that she was ok and not to worry about her they finally backed off a bit. 

She decided to spend the next day in the cabin with Alexei. They spend the day binge-watching crime documentaries and having food delivered to the cabin. Her sisters joined their parents for a round of golf, knowing the Nastya would want some space. The story of how she went plummeting towards the bottom of the pool was the talk of tea time. Even the owner Gleb had reached out to her father to make sure she was ok and reassure her that something like this wouldn’t happen again. Lily promised by the next day there would be a new story for the ladies to gossip about at lunch. She just worried that Dmitry the lifeguard didn’t get in trouble for the kids running at the pool. 

__________________

Towel duty, that’s the thanks Dmitry gets for saving a life. No prize, no great job for saving a drowning girl, instead he was in charge of keeping the guest supplied with pool towels. He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel pretty smug after having saved a life. If he was just a few seconds late she could have swallowed water or even hit her head on the pool floor. Instead, he got a lecture from the owner about pool safety, making sure there weren’t any pesky kids running around. Gleb made sure the family of the kid was banned from the pool for at least a week. “They’re just kids, accidents happen.” He tried telling Gleb, but it was no use. 

The only good thing about working the counter was that he didn’t have to sit in the blazing heat all day. It was an abnormally hot June day, not even a cloud in the sky. At first, he was too busy singing to music that was playing at the pool to notice her come up to the counter. He heard her laugh a little and turned slightly embarrassed. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come up.” He apologized.

“It’s fine, I love this song too.” Anastasia laughed, then got quiet. 

“Do you need a towel?” He asked, a little confused.

“No, actually I’m here to thank you, again.” She answered. “I didn’t want to be one of the first scandals at the resort this summer, but I’m glad you were there to save me.” 

Dmitry waved, “It’s really not a big deal, it’s what I’m trained for. Plus no one is even talking about you anymore. Did you hear about the cute little old couple, Mrs. Evans swung her gold club and it landed inside the roof of a golf cart. She’ll be the news story for the next couple of days.” He laughed. 

  
“Well, I just wanted to say it anyway. I don’t know how to swim so you definitely saved me.” She smiled. She couldn’t help but stare at him, the way his hair fell in his face, and his dimples. 

“You know I could teach you.” He offered.

“Teach me what?” She asked looking at him curiously. 

He laughed a little, getting caught in her blue eyes. “I could teach you to swim.” He said. “I do have a little swimmers class on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am. You’re welcome to join.” 

She rolled her eyes at the idea. “I’m fine, besides I never get in the water.” She shrugged. 

“That looks true, but it could help prepare you in case something like this ever happens again.” He smiled. “I may not always be there to save you.” 

She was silent for a moment. “I should probably get going, I’m meeting my sisters for lunch.” She gave him a soft smile as she walked away. 

Anastasia could feel herself drifting away during lunch. Her sisters were talking about the different things they have been working on. Olga was discussing the new law firm she has been working at. It was nice spending time with her sisters since she hadn’t seen them in a while, but her mind kept reminding her of a certain lifeguard.

As soon as they finished their lunch Anastasia scooted her chair back. “Where are you going Nastya?” Tatiana asked

She stood there nervously while her sisters stared at her. “I’m just going to go for a walk, I just want to get out for a little bit. I’ll be fine I promise.” She left the table before they could say any else. 

  
She could feel her heart beating as she marched down the path towards the pool. She bounced on the ball of her sneakers down the stairs. She noticed someone else was working the towel counter and looked around to see if she spotted him. Finally the back door of the building where the lifeguard office was opened and out walked a tall, muscular boy. Quickly she followed to where he was at. 

“Dmitry!” She called as he was walking away. 

He turned around confused at first, trying to hide the smile on his face he answered her. “Anya? Did you miss me or something?” He laughed.

“What?” She questioned. “No.” That was a lie but she wasn't going to let him know that. “I just wanted to ask you if you were serious earlier.” 

He looked at her even more confused. “Serious about what?” She asked as he walked closer to her. 

“About the lessons.” She stumbled on her words nervously. 

He shrugged a bit and crossed his arms over his chest. “You want to join my class, you know it’s full of six-year-olds.” He shook his head. “I have to tell you that they are pretty good for being six, I wouldn't want them showing you up. What would the ladies who lunch say about it?” 

Anya stood there annoyed by him and already regretting bringing up the idea again. “Shut up Dmitry, I don’t want to join your group of six-year-olds. I want you to teach me, but not in a class.” She watched him as he stood there thinking. 

“So you want private lessons.” He thought about it for a moment. “I guess I could set something up for you, but It’ll cost you. I do have a save on my record.” He smirked. 

She took a deep breath and held in what she wanted to say to him. “Ok, fine I’ll pay for the lessons, but there’s something else.”

“What?” He asked. 

“No one can know that I’m doing this, especially not my parents. They’re already upset about the pool incident, me taking lessons from the guy who wasn't ‘paying enough attention,’ would only make things worse. I don’t want to get you in trouble, but what if you gave me lessons at night when the pool is closed?” She looked at him trying to read his expression. 

“It’s risky, I could lose my job if the owner found out I was in the pool after hours.” He replied. She felt her heart drop and just stared at her feet. “But, I’ll do it.” 

“Really?” She asked. 

“Yes, just as long as no one finds out. I don’t care what Gleb thinks of me anyway.” He shrugged. 

“Thank you, Dmitry.” She smiled. 

“Don’t mention it, seriously.” He joked. “We can start tonight, meet me here after dinner is over.” She nodded and walked back towards the main building. He shook his head as he watched her leave. Now, what was he getting himself into? 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I don't really remember a lot about swimming lessons, except from taking them as a kid so it may not be the best technique but I tried. Hope you enjoy!

It was just past 8:30, the hours for dinner had already ended and most of the guests had already retired to their cabins, or were spending their evening at the Neva Club inside the resort. Dmitry stood inside the pool waiting. It was still pretty warm outside so the water wasn’t freezing cold. “Come on, just get in the pool,” Dmitry called to Anya. 

She stood at the edge of the steps, looking down nervously at the water. “I will, I just need a second.” 

“I can’t teach you to swim if you aren’t in the water.” He said. “I’m right here, I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.” She took a deep breath and started to slowly descend the steps into the pool. “Ok, good. Now just walk over to me.” 

She made her way over to him and gave him a soft smile. “Ok, I’m in the water. Now what?” She asked.

“We’ll stay in the shallow part, for now, then we can work our way towards the deeper end. Right now we are just getting you comfortable being in the water.” Basic as he waved his arm back and forth in the water. She watched and slowly tried to mimic his movements. 

“So, what made your family decide to spend their vacation here this summer?” Dmitry asked.

“I honestly don’t know, we’ve always spent our summer with our grandmother, she lives just outside of Paris. Lily insisted that we come this year. My parents assumed she still owned the place, and I have a feeling the end of the summer benefit has something to do with it.” She answered. 

“Well from what I’ve heard your family is one of the richest families in New York City, I can see why Gleb would want you here.” He commented. 

She stood there in the water with him, pushing it back and forth with her arms. “So why are you here?” She questioned and pushed herself a little closer to him. 

“It’s my summer job, I’ve worked here for a few years now. I grew up with my mother not far from here.” He hadn’t noticed till now how close she was to him. He loved the way the water made her eyes sparkle. “Um, we should probably get started with the lesson.” He said, clearing his throat. He also noticed that she backed away from him a little. 

“Ok, the first thing we need to work on is breathing, that is the most important. When you fell in the water did you open your mouth, even if you weren’t screaming?” He asked her.

“I guess so, I think it was the shock of being thrown in the pool.” She admitted.

“Exactly, that’s why you started to sink towards the bottom. So here's what we are going to do first, I want you to take a deep breath, put your head in the water, and count to five.” He commanded. She looked at him reluctantly knowing her hair would have to get wet but did it. “Ok, good.” He added once she came back up. “How did you feel?”

“Like my face was in the water.” She rolled her eyes a little. 

“Ok, well that’s how swimming works. You have to get a little wet.” He laughed. “Now I want you to do that a few more times then we’ll move on.” 

She did as she was told, after a couple of times she popped back up from the water and said, “now what? I actually get to learn how to swim?” 

“Wrong.” He answered. “You can’t learn to swim all in one night. When you were in the water, you sank, I’m going to show you how to float.” He moved so he was closer to her and grabbed her hands. She looked at him curiously at first. “We’re going to practice floating, just trust me.” He held her hands for a second longer as he got caught in her eyes again. “Umm, so you're going to float.” He stumbled. “I’m going to hold your hands and you just float on your stomach, don’t try to kick, just lay flat.” 

Dmitry gently held her as she floated in the water, trying not to focus on how soft and small her hands felt in his. After a few seconds, he helped her to stand back up. “That was really good, do you want to try it on your own now?” He watched her as she floated by herself a few times. “And, that’s all for our first lesson.” He started.

“That’s it?” She questioned as she watched him pull himself out of the pool using the side ladder. “You’re six-year-olds are already starting to swim across the pool.” She argued, following him out of the pool. 

He laughed a little as he headed her a towel. “Well, I don’t usually have to coax my six-year-olds to get in the pool for 20 minutes.” Her jaw dropped and she swatted him with the towel he had just handed her. 

“Well, I’m sorry but I don’t think all of your kids had a traumatic experience before they agreed to this.” She asserted. She rolled her eyes as she wrapped the towel around her to dry off. 

“You really never learned how to swim?” He asked. 

She was a little surprised by his question at first. “Growing up we were never really allowed to go swimming, it was t exactly ladylike. We would go to the beach with my grandmother when we visited her in France. The only reason my brother knows is from years of therapy.” She admitted. 

“Then why did you ask me to do this?” He asked. “Where does your family think you are?” 

“I don’t know.” She answered, suddenly aware of how close he was standing. “In the cabin reading, I asked Alexei to cover for me.” She was so close that she could see the water droplets rolling down the side of his face from his messy hair. “I should probably get going before they notice.” With that, she turned and headed down the path towards the cabins. Dmitry wonders why he was always left watching her walk away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short chapter, but things are just getting started!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Happy Reading!

The Romanov family sat around their breakfast table in the dining room together. It was already a hot June morning, there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. Though Anastasia didn’t mind seeing Dmitry sit atop his lifeguard chair, she dreaded the heat and hoped Maria didn’t want to go out and tan again. 

“So what is everyone planning for today?” Their mother asked. 

“Well, I was thinking of a spa day!” Maria exclaimed. “Would you like to join Mother?” 

“I think that sounds like a great idea, we could all use a spa day, girls.” Their mother added. The girls agreed and began making plans on what spa treatments they wanted to do. As they finished their breakfast Mr. Vaganov walked over to their table. 

“Good morning everyone, I hope you all enjoyed your breakfast.” He greeted.

“Of course Mr. Vaganov, it was delicious.” Their mother chimed. 

“Oh, Please call me Gleb.” He answered. “I came over here because I wanted to ask you, Mr. Romanov, if I could take your daughter Olga to dinner tomorrow night?” He asked nervously. All three sisters immediately turned to look at the oldest. 

Nicholas stirred in his chair a bit and cleared his throat. “Well, I believe Olga will have to answer that for you.” He stated, looking over at Olga.

Olga tried to ignore the eyes of her sister and turned towards the man. “I would love to join you for dinner Gleb.” She replied.  
  
“Wonderful,” Gleb said, trying not to show his excitement too much. “I will meet you at 7:00.” Starting to leave, he added. “Also Anastasia would you be able to help us this evening, we are doing a crafts night for the kids?” 

“She would love to help.” Her father answered for her. “Volunteer work always looks good on a resume.” Anastasia day there silently while her father made plans for her again. 

“Well, I don’t want to take away from Olga, but I have a date as well,” Maria exclaimed as the four sisters started to leave the breakfast table. 

“A date? With who?” Tatiana asked. 

“Viktor of course, he asked me to have lunch with him on Friday, he has the afternoon off.” She smiled. The girls looked at each other, not sure what to say. None of them cared much for Viktor, there was just something about him that was off. Anastasia assumes it was his entitlement. The girls could tell Maria was getting upset.

“That’s great Masha.” Olga quickly added. “Tanya already has her resident Dr. Mcdreamy, so I guess we just need to find someone for Nastya.” She laughed. 

  
______________________

Dmitry waited by the pool for Anya, when she walked up he was sitting on the edge with his legs hanging in the water.   
“I’m sorry I’m late, I got tied up and then I hadn’t eaten dinner, then I let my swimsuit in the cabin. Thankfully Maria is covering for me.” She sighed, throwing her t-shirt and shorts on one of the pool chairs. 

Dmitry just shrugged his shoulders, “I’m getting paid either way right.” Anya rolled her eyes and got in the water. “What were you doing anyway?”

“My father so graciously volunteered me to help with the kids' craft night.” She watched as he slid off the edge of the pool into the water. “When we arrived at the resort, my father made sure to inform Mr. Vanganov that I am always looking for volunteer hours to boost my resume.” He could hear the annoyance in her voice. 

“Well, from what I’ve heard you already have quite the resume.” He laughed. 

“Where did you hear that?” she asked.

He walked over towards where she was standing in the shallow end. “I’m pretty good friends with Vlad, he’s married to Lily the former owner. He informed me about your family when you arrived. He also told me that you are starting Yale in the fall.”

  
“That’s the plan.” She signed. “Go to an Ivy League like my sisters, study something impressive and join the business world of Manhattan’s elite.” 

  
“Is that what you want?” He questioned.

“I don’t want to talk about this, can we just move on with our lessons.” She snapped.

“Ok princess, we’ll get started.” He joked. “Yesterday you learned to float now you are going to learn strokes.” Dmitry motioning in the water how to move her arms in a freestyle stroke. “You are going to use your arm as a paddle and push the water, now you try.” Anya did her best to mimic the motions Dmitry had shown her. “ Good, except your left arm. 

Dmitry moved so he was standing behind Anya, dangerously close. He gently grabbed her arms from behind and helped her to create the swimming motion. The longer he held on to her, the faster his heartbeat. Suddenly realizing how far he had already gone, he jumped away from her. 

“Is everything ok?” She asked, startled.

Dmitry cleared his throat before speaking. “I’m, yeah. You are doing great. Just keep practicing that motion, then we can move on.” Dmitry knew what was going to have to come next, he was going to have to make sure she was able to float and move her arms. Unfortunately for him, this meant cradling her in the water just to be safe. 

He gently held his arms underneath her as she practiced moving the swimming motion. He did his best not to think about how close they were. “How was that?” She asked once she had finished. 

“That was great before you know it, you will be swimming laps.” He laughed.

____________________

In the next couple of weeks, they had fallen into a routine. After dinner she would make an excuse to get away from her family, asking Maria or Alexei to cover for her. She would meet Dmitry at the pool and continue their swim lessons. Her family had become adjusted to the resort and spent most of their time with Lily or other guests. The evenings were always filled with different activities for adult guests. Of course, each one came with the opportunity to donate towards the end of the year benefit, none of them knew exactly when the benefit was for but that it was all for a good cause. 

Olga’s date with Gleb had gone very well and the two began spending more time together. He even joined them for breakfast in the mornings. Maria had become infatuated with his nephew Victor, and would not shut about him. Anya was always a little tired after her swimming lessons and having to listen to Maria ramble on about how great he was wasn’t her ideal way of falling asleep. 

“Why haven’t you taken an interest in any of the guys here?” Maria had asked one night. 

“I don’t know, I guess none of the guys here are my type.” She responded. It wasn’t completely a lie, none of the guys here were like the guys in New York she had dated in the past, but there was a certain lifeguard that always made his way into her mind. 

“There has to be someone for you Nastya, I could ask Viktor to set you up with one of his waiter friends.” Maria offered. 

“No!” She yelled. “I mean, I’m just not really interested. I just want to enjoy this summer, and have fun.” She signed. She didn’t know if Maria was going to press her even more on the subject or not, but didn’t give her a chance. Anastasia turned off the lamp in their room and pulled the blankets over her head. Though, even in her dreams, there was a tall dark-headed boy with the cutest dimples she has ever seen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short, but we get some cute Dimya moments!

The morning was pretty quiet in the lifeguard shack, there were only a couple of other guards who had opened the pool for the senior morning aerobics class. Dmitry stood by the lockers as he put his stuff away. He grabbed the bottle of sunblock and set it down on the bench behind him. 

“Need help getting your back?” he heard a voice ask. 

He turned around to see her standing in the doorway of the shack. “What are you doing here? Lifeguards only.”

“Oh please, when have we ever followed that rule Miyta?” Marfa asked. She walked over to where he was and picked up the bottle. “We haven’t spent much time here this summer, maybe if you are free later.” She suggested as she poured the sunblock into her hands. 

“I’m not really sure about that Marfa.” He answered. He felt a little uneasy as she started to rub the lotion into his back for him. He didn’t stop her because it was pretty hard to get your back by yourself. 

She sighed as she handed him the bottle to finish the rest. “I just thought since we had a lot of fun last summer we could have some fun this summer.”

He put the bottle back in his locker along with his phone and cabin keys. Grabbing his towel and sunglasses he headed towards the pool door. “This summer and last summer are just different Marfa.” That was all he said as she followed him outside.

“Ugh”, he heard her scoff. “They’re back again.” She stood there looking at the four girls preparing their things by the pool lounge chairs. “Every single day the four of them lay there. Never getting in, but still expect ice teas every hour, fresh lemon slices, and exactly one cube of sugar.” 

Dmitry watched the girls later or on their chairs, he never really paid attention to the others, he mostly watched Anya as she read. It was only July and she had already gone through four books. “What’s wrong with that?” Dmitry asked. 

“What’s wrong? Those girls have never actually worked a day in their life. Everything is just handed to them on a silver platter.” She argued. “People like us would never fit into a world like theirs, filled with diamonds, parties, European vacations, and Daddy's Plastic. Snakes like Viktor and Gleb are the only ones Mr. Romanov approves of.” Marfa started heading towards the cafe. “Maybe they’ll find two cubes of sugar in their tea today.” She laughed. 

Dmitry stood there for a moment watching the girls. He never noticed until now how prim and proper they all looked. For the amount of time they spent laying the pool, there wasn't a tan line in sight. He let his mind wander about the ideas he had blocked out. What if Marfa was right? He couldn’t deny anymore that he felt something for Anya, and even if she felt the same way, her father would never approve.  
  


________________________

“See you’re getting better,” Dmitry commented as Anya swam back over to him. 

“Well, I guess I haven’t been totally wasting my summer here. Maybe I’ll go for the swim team at Yale.” she joked. 

“I’m not sure you’re ready for that, might take a few more summers you're still just a guppy.” He laughed. 

“Hey!” She yelled as she splashed him in the face. 

He wiped his face with his hand and slashed her back. “You can’t treat your instructor like that.” Bust she just splashed him again. Ok, you asked for it.” 

He lowered himself in the water and snuck over towards her, quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, and lifted her. She screamed as he twirled her in the pool creating waves around them. The pair laughed as he set her back down, their faces just inches away from each other. Suddenly it seemed as if everything around them was quiet. Nothing could be heard except a cricket chirping every once in a while.

“We should probably get out before it gets late,” Dmitry commented, breaking the silence.

“Um, yeah, you’re right.” Anya made her way to the pool ladder and climbed out. Dmitry followed closely behind. 

“Here.” He turned to hand her a towel before grabbing one for himself. 

“Thanks.” She smiled as she wrapped it around her shoulders. 

The two stood there in the moonlight, Dmitry loved the way Anya's blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the light. After what seemed like forever he began to speak.

“I should-“ Anya cut him off. Crashing her lips against his. He pulled back a bit to look at her surprised. She opened her mouth to speak, but leaned in and kissed her again. Wrapping his arm around her waist he pulled her in close. She snaked her arms around his neck and rose on to her tiptoes as he deepened their kiss. 

She giggled as they pulled away from each other, and he had the biggest smile on his face. Suddenly they could hear voices and looked to see at the top of the hill was her father accompanied by Maria and Viktor exiting the main building. Anya pulled her and Dmitry down, hiding behind the lifeguard chair. They stayed there until the voices faded.

“They’re gone, I don’t think they saw us.” She whispered. 

“Yeah,” Dmitry added, except this time where something off, his voice had gone cold. He stood up quickly startling her a bit. “I better get going.” He didn’t wait for her to respond and walked over to the table to grab his belongings and headed towards his cabin. 

“Dmitry Wait!” She yelled, but it was already too late. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I'm back working in the office so its taking me a little longer to write this story. I will update as soon as I can!

She walked around the pool area and didn’t see him anywhere, it was still early in the day so he probably wasn’t on duty yet. She walked over to the counter, there he stood with his clipboard. 

“Hey!” She called. “Can we talk?” 

Dmitry looked up from the inventory list he was going over to see a petite strawberry blonde standing in front of him. “What’s there to talk about?” He asked dryly. 

“I just wanted to talk about what happened last night.” She sighed as she stood in front of him.

He put his clipboard down and shook his head. “Look, Anya, it’s probably better if we just pretend as nothing happened. I know I’m not an Ivy League med student, I’m not the type of guy your father would approve of. “ his voice was stern and cold. 

She tried not to let him sett the pain she was feeling, how his harsh words were affecting her. “That’s not it Dmitry..”

“You got your swimming lessons already.” He cut her off. “I don’t think there’s any reason for us to continue. I have to finish taking inventory.” He picked up his clipboard and turned his back to her. Annoyed she picked up a small bottle of sunscreen from the display on the counter and threw it just barely missed Dmitry’s head. With that, she stormed off. 

_______________________

Anastasia tried everything she could think of to distract herself from thinking about Dmitry. Reading in the cabin, spending time with her sisters and brother, but nothing seemed to work, her mind kept wondering. If he wanted to act like there was nothing between them then so be it. She hated that she kept thinking about him. What made things worse was having to see him. 

Of course, she had been volunteered probably by her parents to help out with the children’s activities at the annual 4th of July picnic. The resort was known for its all-day events and spectacular fireworks show at the end of the night. She sat at the kids' table as they decorated cookies. The table was covered in a mixture of frosting and sprinkles and everything smelled like sugar. She did her best to interact with the kids, helping them with the icing bags, but she kept feeling herself wander off. Gazing as the tall dark handsome boy helped with water balloon tosses and potato sack races. He was great with the kids, she had seen his swimming class a few times and always noticed how much he enjoyed it. 

“Hey, Nastya!” Alexei called as he headed towards the craft table. 

“Hey.” She smiled. 

“How’s the craft table going?” He asked.

She rolled her eyes as one of the kids knocked over a bottle of sprinkles and sighed. “So glad my shift is almost over, my hands will probably be stained red for days from the icing and I’ve already eaten almost a dozen cookies. What have you been up to?” 

“I’ve just been hanging with some of the guys, we were planning on going to pop some fireworks outside of the resort. Would you want to come with us?” He asked. After a couple of weeks at the resort, Alexei made friends with some of the other boys around his age. It made the whole family happy to see him hanging with other kids his age, he doesn’t have many friends back in the city. It was kind of hard to make friends when you are in and out of the hospital so much growing up.

“No, that’s ok. You can have fun with your friends. I think I might do something else tonight.” She answered. Alexei hugged his sister before leaving to meet his friends. Anastasia just sat there and waited for someone to come to relieve her. It was getting close to the start of the dinner picnic. She watched as Dmitry played with the kids, letting them attack him with water balloons, one way or another, she was going to make him talk to her. 


End file.
